Emmet is a forty-eight minute long Canadian film that tells the story of a friendship and of life changing choices. The storyline can be described in a few sentences. Emmet (Matthew Rappolt) is a twelve-year-old boy who hangs out with his friend Mike (Evan Green). They are good friends, even if from their conversations one gets the feeling that Emmet is a bit of a loner — weirder than most boys his age. Yet,Mike doesn’t seem to have a problem with that, at least until Emmet meets Mike’s “cooler” friends who happen to have their own explanation of Emmet’s weariness.
At one point in the film, the boys head out to swim. When they encounter a road accident – a crushed car with a guy in it who is hurt and in danger of dying – will the boys be able to help him …?
The story of the film is similar to the one in the Norwegian short Benny’s Gym, at least when it comes to the common issues of bullying, showing off and friendship. Unlike the Norwegian short – Emmet’s cinematography isn’t professional and the acting is quite average. It feels as if one is watching a home made film shot with a hand-held camera that gives the film an almost documentary-like feeling not much different than the one in Put the Camera on Me by Darren Stain. The most memorable part of the film is its soundtrack, but even that is overdone at times. At the same time, though, the efforts of the crew and the actors to tell a good story with some moral values deserves some recognition.
The film is produced by Sterling Productions, which seems to be an independent company with a focus on young talents and stories aimed at a teenage audience. Most of their films can be classified as coming of age, in addition to being family-friendly. Check out their site to find out more about Emmet and their other films. I believe that people should be supporting independent studios like Sterling Productions.
Who knows? Maybe that’s where the next Barret Oliver will come from…
Trailer
http://youtu.be/2rMHs5spYQI
